Distortions
by lilypromise2u
Summary: Perhaps the frightening thing about them was not their vicious fangs, but rather that they used to be mere children. Oneshot.


**Key: **_Italics are for emphasis._

"_Italics in quotes are the mutts 'speaking.'" _**(Further explanation at end if needed.)**

-X-**  
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Cato walked cautiously through the woods, steps hesitant and ears open for any sound. He had been walking like this for a while, the veins in his neck twitching as he jerked his head in different directions; up, down, left, right. A mix of terror and his usual cockiness filled his eyes as he glanced around at the trees and bushes, trying to see through the branches in case Katniss lay in wait to kill him with an arrow as he searched for her.

In his nervousness, he failed to notice a pair of bright green eyes staring at him amongst the undergrowth.

The yellow wolf-creature watched him for a moment as he passed by, then turned and slunk back to find the rest of her pack.

She reached two of her companions in only a couple of minutes, and they howled softly to alert the remaining others—who had scattered out to search—that their prey had been found. Once all of the members were assembled, they headed back to find Cato. Now that they knew his general area, catching on to his scent and following his path would be an easy task.

They skulked through the tall grass and thick shrubbery quickly and quietly, sniffing along the ground every now and then to be sure they were on the right path. When they finally caught sight of Cato, they began panting and whining, thrilled at the chance to feast. The chance for revenge.

Hearing the mutts, Cato stopped. He turned his head slowly, not sure of what exactly was behind him but knowing that it couldn't be good. When he saw them, his mouth opened slightly and a small, choked noise escaped his throat.

Twenty-one large, wolf-like beasts crouched before him. Their mouths hung open, thick saliva oozing out around their jagged, yellow teeth. Filthy and matted fur covered their bodies, and each of their huge paws had four long, sharp claws poking out, ready to rip their prey to shreds. And their eyes…

Cato recognized those eyes. He stumbled backward as he stared into a pair of beautiful green eyes, surrounded by dark brown fur. _Clove._ Blonde fur and another pair of green eyes. _Glimmer._ Horrorstruck, he saw others he knew: _Marvel. Thresh. The boy who set the mines._

There was a moment during which the only noise was the ragged breathing of the creatures, and then Cato's instincts took over. He spun away from the mutts and took off running.

Their reaction was instant; they lunged after him, growling and letting out shrill barks. The loud, gargling sounds meant only danger to Cato; he couldn't understand the language of barks and growls…

"_Cato…you should have held your temper…my death was quick, but yours will be slow…oh, how I will enjoy this…"_

"_We were a team…how could you abandon me? Do not worry, Cato, I will not be leaving you now…"_

"_Do you remember me? By the fire? No, you don't…but after this, you will never, ever forget me…"_

Almost doubled over with exhaustion, Cato ran as fast as he could, and eventually he made it out of the woods and to the lake. He barely noticed Katniss and Peeta by the lake, and bolted straight past them, his chest heaving as he sprinted to the Cornucopia.

The mutts burst out of the forest seconds after he did, tearing across the land towards their victim—Katniss and Peeta scarcely managed to jump up and dash after Cato to the Cornucopia, but they made it in time to climb up onto the scalding metal horn.

Rough snarls escaped the ugly mouths of the mutts as they went wild with excitement at having all three of their targets captured. They jerked their heads to the sides and jumped up, scratching at the sides of the Cornucopia, trying to push themselves up to reach Cato, Katniss, and Peeta.

Katniss scrambled up higher and fitted an arrow to her bow, ready to attempt an attack on the monsters. But as she aimed at one of them, she noticed something.

A pair of wide brown eyes, their youthful look contrasting greatly with the vicious, fanged mouth below them.

"_Katniss…you left me alone, all alone…you said you would stay…why did you leave me!"_

Katniss' bow had slipped; it now hung loosely in her hand. She didn't understand that the wolves were speaking to her, in their own version of language, but she could recognize the eyes of tributes she had known; she could see the hatred in them.

"_Good trick with the berries…but you'll regret it when I get my teeth into you…"_

"_I saved you, and you repaid me by letting him kill me…and now I will kill you!"_

Katniss stared in shock until a grunt from behind her jolted her from her trance-like state. She whipped her head back, forgetting about the mutts for a moment, and saw Cato holding Peeta in a headlock, with the latter gasping for air as he tried to loosen the grip around his neck. Anger and fear rushed through her as she quickly prepared another arrow and aimed at Cato's hand. It only took him a second to realize what she was doing, but that second was enough. She released the bowstring and the arrow hit its mark.

Cato broke his hold of Peeta and toppled off the side of the Cornucopia, arms and legs flailing wildly as he struggled in vain to regain his position. He hit the ground with a loud thump.

The mutts went wild.

All twenty-one dove towards Cato where he lay on the ground, shoving and biting at each other in their attempt to get to their victim. He screamed, throwing his arms up in front of his face in a final effort to protect himself as the frantic beasts descended upon him.

The horrific sound of ripping flesh rose into the air and mingled with Cato's shrieks of agony, and it took Katniss and Peeta an entire minute to recover from the shock of the scene before them. When they were finally able to move, they quietly slipped off of the opposite side of the Cornucopia and ran toward the woods, knowing that the wolves were preoccupied with Cato but still wanting to get away as soon as possible.

The instant they were inside the forest, however, Katniss stopped, grabbing Peeta's hand to hold him back with her.

"Katniss?" he asked, panting slightly as he looked at her in confusion.

"I…I think…I think I hear…" she said, her voice trailing off as she tried to catch her breath. She paused for a moment to listen again, but the only sounds that reached her ears were the awful shredding noise and Cato's continued—although by now much quieter and weaker—cries.

"No…I must have been imagining it," she said. She shook her head as if to clear it, and then looked back at Peeta. "Let's go."

He nodded and they took off deeper into the woods, to safety, still grasping each other's hands as they ran.

But Katniss had heard something while running to the forest:

"_Revenge…"_

-X-

**A/N: Well, for the first prose I've written in at least a year, I guess it's not too bad. I'd like to clear a couple things up, though: first, the point of view. It came out as omniscient, which might have been confusing (sorry!). Like I said, it's been a while since I've written. :/**

**Also, this is kind of an exploration of something Katniss mentioned in the book—did the mutts have their own brains? Could they recognize Katniss, Peeta, and Cato? In this fic, they can to an extent. They've been…brainwashed, so to speak, in that they now are programmed to hate the remaining tributes. So they're blaming them for their deaths; for example, Rue is mad at Katniss for leaving her. Even though Katniss only left she had already died, the mutt version of her thinks that Katniss abandoned her. Make sense? (I hope.)**

**Finally, the _"mutt language."_ (In case that was confusing.) Think of it as an English translation of barks. XD**

**I know it was pretty shaky writing, at best, but I'd appreciate if you could leave a quick review to let me know your thoughts/criticisms. Thanks for reading! :)**


End file.
